In truth, he is. Largely. In person, he is not robotic, though, like all politicians, including Barack Obama, he has learned the perils of straying from the script and sticks mostly to talking points in his speeches.

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But since it is impossible for a candidate to meet every voter one-on-one, Romney must project his human qualities, concern and compassion through the media.

Part of his dilemma is that “humanness” is often dismissed as “warmth and fuzziness” by his fellow Republicans, who would rather see resolve and toughness instead.

In his primary battles, Romney did not have to stress warmth. He had to stand on stage at each Republican debate and present Republican voters with a choice: Who had the best chance of winning in November? Mitt Romney or what George H.W. Bush once referred to as the “extra chromosome set,” the ultra-conservative wing of the party that included Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum?

So Mitt Romney won with the image: Not the crazy guy.

But this was not going to be good enough to win the general election. Nor could Romney win solely based on his business acumen. The Democrats were attacking that: Did Romney create or destroy jobs at Bain Capital? Why did he put his money in the Cayman Islands and Swiss bank accounts? And why won’t he reveal more of his past tax returns?

There was an even greater problem: the economy has been bad, the unemployment figures high, for every month of the Obama presidency and yet Obama continues to beat Romney in the polls.

One reason is that people didn’t seem to like Romney that much on a personal level. According to a Washington Post/ABC poll, Romney finished the primary season with the lowest favorability rating of any presumptive nominee in the past 28 years.

Romney lacks a story. Voters like candidates with stories. John McCain was a war hero and Vietnam POW who struggled back from torture and captivity. Hillary Clinton was a very smart woman who had put up with a cheating husband and a glass ceiling and seemed more than qualified to be the first woman to sit in the Oval Office. Barack Obama was the black child of a single mother; he went to college, worked on the mean streets of Chicago and then went off to law school and politics.

Stories. Americans love stories. But what is Mitt Romney’s story? The son of the chairman of American Motors and then governor of Michigan, Mitt grows up in wealth, attends a swank prep school where he cuts off the hair of a gay student, goes to Bordeaux rather than Vietnam, goes to law school, enters the world of business and high finance and makes a fortune.

Readers' Comments (137)

Romney lacks a story? Seriously. This is a self made man who donated his inheritance and launched Bain on his own to become a very successful business. He saved the Olympics from the frauds and cheats who were running it. He's got a lovely family and is an upright and moral man. Maybe too boring for the sleaze that the Left (and Politico) find to be interesting, but with all of his pizazz and fanfare, Obama is an EPIC FAILURE and is working hard to destroy this country.

As usual, Politico and the MSM, campaigning for the Marxist in Chief by slamming the right.

They better worry about humanizing Ann too. She comes across in TV interviews as somewhat supercilious, the slight stench of an air of superiority about her. She can be condescending ("you people") and ungraciously hyperbolic ("Their strategy is to kill Mitt"). Talking about medical problems when you're rich is very different from talking about medical problems when you're stressed over being able to pay for treatment. Ann supports Mitt in his desire to take away the promise of health insurance for some additional 30 million Americans. How humanizing is that? She has her own humanizing problem, but I do wish her well and I hope she gives a moving, honest and heartfelt speech. A good, faithful spouse deserves no less.

(But she should stay away from a line she has used before: "People think Mitt is rigid? It looks like I'm going to have to unzip him and let the real Mitt out.")

Ann and her sob stories cannot save Mitt. The only thing that can save Mitt is his constant lying. There are a lot of naive people in this country that would believe him! Mitts mormon faith supports lying! It's a Mormon thing. It's called Lying for the Lord. And it's a tenet of the Mormon faith that, Mormons think, gives them to the right to tell you a bald-faced lie, so long as it's a lie that somehow furthers the Mormon cause.

Save Mitt ? Dick Morris had a poll last night with Romney ahead by 8 or 9 points.If this is true, then who REALLY needs saving ! Give America SUBSTANCE not STLYE ! I happen to think he looks VERY Presidential, along with his lovely wife Ann and their Beautiful Large All- American looking Family to grace the walls of our White House again !How wonderful it would be to have good, happy, sunny, dispositions dwelling within those walls !

I have never before seen a candidate's spouse's speech given so much importance!

Mrs. Romney has said in interviews what a great husband and father Mitt is - and I am sure that he is!

But my husband is also a great husband and father. I think for any happily married woman that goes without saying!

But how can Mrs. Romney explain Mitt's lack of a solid political core? How can she explain his flipping and flopping since 1994 on every major issue? How can she explain both of their secret natures about their Federal Income Taxes? How can she explain his lack of appreciation for money - saying things like "Wanna bet $10,000" or $374,000 is not much in speaking fees?" How can she explain his pandering to his far-right wing with comments about the President's Birth Certificate - as well as his overt courting of The Donald? How can she explain Mitt's lack of empathy for those not as well off - he said as much, remember - "I'm not worried about the very poor" Mitt said last fall.

Mrs. Romney has her work cut out for her.

But I am sure she will tell us what a wonderful husband and dad Mitt is.

Likability is a pack of nonsense- if it weren't that voting is really an emotional experience.

Here you have a failed president who is likable. How ridiculous is that! Will that get jobs? Will that reverse America's downward slide in the Middle East and the world? Will that get us out of debt?

Of course not!

Then you have a Mitt Romney who has excelled not just in business, but in leadership. He has led just about every group he has belonged to: his college fraternity, the Republican Governors Association, Bain, Massachusetts, the Olympics. Personal, private, and public groups.

If Obama had been a leader, we would not be in this mess. He would have been able to turn around the feisty and negative Republicans - he didn't know how. It's not the Republicans' fault. NO, it's Obama's fault b/c he didn't have the skills. Just imagine Roosevelt, Johnson, Clinton - they would have worked through any mess they faced.

It's America that needs to be saved from Obama. Isn't this election about the economy, and us values? Politico needs to change it's biased tune.

Romney has plenty of characture, not defined by hollywood but by real life tough decisions. I think if we are not seeing that then we are missing the mark ourselves. If we want Mr. Popular (smooth talker) over Mr. Fixit, then we are asking for a lot more debt, and polarized politics.

Seriously, Obama wants us to hate the rich, the republicans and everyone who doesnt see eye to eye. Mitt wants the best solutions from both sides and the best for America!

"Romney lacks a story? Seriously. This is a self made man who donated his inheritance and launched Bain on his own to become a very successful business. He saved the Olympics from the frauds and cheats who were running it."

Romney grew up in a millionaire family and went to the best schools and had great contacts thanks to dad. Yes he donated his inheritance from his dad because he had already made millions destroying jobs and sending companies into bankruptcies for taxpayers to clean up. But let's not pretend he wasn't born on third base, shall we?

As for saving the Olympics, you have to give the US government, and we the taxpayers some of the credit since Romney went on bended knee for taxpayer dollars.

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" He has led just about every group he has belonged to: his college fraternity, the Republican Governors Association, Bain, Massachusetts, the Olympics. Personal, private, and public groups."

Yeah....I heard he led a bunch of bullies in a free hair cut for a fellow student. He led workers out the door without their pensions and healthcare, and he led Mass. to 47th place in the country on jobs.

Mitt Romney never did anything without a clear idea on how it would benefit Mitt Romney.